Kaweco AC SportCarbon - Steel Nib (F)Length Capped: 107mmLength Posted: 131mmLength Uncapped: 100mmSection at Thinnest Point: 9mmSection at Widest Point: 10mmWeight w/Ink & Cap: 22.2gWeight w/Ink & No Cap: 13.4gFast Writing: Keeps up fine.Line Variation: Very little line variation, but you can squeeze out a tiny bit.Upside Down Writing: Very scratchy, but it can be done if needed.Wetness: Fairly wet writer. This ink did contribute to that some.Pros: Lightweight, portable, Kaweco style & dependabilityCons: May be too light for some; cannot be used long without posting; nib can be a tad scratchy.

Parts of the Pen:

Like all Kaweco Sport models, the pen features a fairly long cap with an octagonal facets. The body is cylindrical with a step down at the end leading to an end cap with a rounded top and a dimple in the middle. The section is tapered and flared, and has a small grouping of threads at the top where the cap screws on. Finally, the finial is very slightly conical and features the 3-syllable Kaweco logo. The carbon parts on the cap appear to be applied as stickers, so you do have a bit of a gap between the carbon and the aluminum edge.

Review:

Kaweco is always coming up with new creative spins on their classic style fountain pen, and the AC Sport Carbon is a good example of that. This pen features a nice matte aluminum finish and is embellished with a nice genuine carbon wrap around the barrel, and on every other panel of the unique octagonal cap. The pen comes in 4 different colors - Red, Champagne, Silver and Black.

As far as how the pen writes, if you've used any other Kaweco sport pen, it functions pretty much the exact same in my experience. This pen uses the same steel nib that comes standard on all of the other Kaweco Sports/Skylines, so the added price doesn't add anything to the writing experience itself. I admittedly have had my hits and misses with Kaweco nibs, but this one performed fairly well. I had a bit of an issue with scratchiness, but discovered the nib tines were misaligned out of the box. Once that was corrected, it performed well with no hard starts and only a slight "toothiness."

One issue that kind of bugged me about this pen was that lint and dust seems to settle in the small gap between where the carbon ends and the aluminum edge begins on the cap. It's not noticeable at a distance, but up close it's pretty easy to see. That is one small improvement Kaweco could make to this pen to bring it up a notch.

Final Thoughts:

Overall I really enjoyed using this pen, much like all my Kaweco pens. The style is something that very few other companies have mimicked successfully, and it is another great spin on a classic design. Whether the extra cost is worth it is really up to what added style is worth to you. The Kaweco AL Sport, which is just the standard aluminum body Sport, retails for $80, and the AC Sport Carbon retails for around $128 - so close to an extra $50. I think if you really like the carbon look, it's worth it to go ahead and pick it up. If the cost isn't worth it to you, try the AL Sport, or even the classic Sport which has a plastic body. All are great pens for on-the-go.

Thank you so much for reading, and thank you to Kaweco for sending this pen for review!- Lori

(Kaweco has provided this product at no charge to The Desk for the purpose of review - I have since chosen to purchase the pen from them. My opinions are honest and without bias - visit the About Me page for more details).